Reuse Opportunity "Not for the Birds"

by Kevin Taylor, CalMAX Co-Coordinator

What started out in San Luis Obispo as a birdhouse building hobby turned into a booming business for entrepreneur Rick Holliday. With a grant from the County Waste Management Authority and some help from CalMAX Rick has elevated his business to a new level by securing deals with retail outlets such as Payless Drugs and Wild Birds Unlimited to sell his unusual wares. Many other local and international outlets also carry his handiwork. The rise in demand for Rick’s avian abodes has been boosted by his winning of many awards for creativity, as well as by numerous articles about his work in publications such as Casual Living.

Rick's artistic and creative birdhouses, planters, tree houses, and even carved animals (four large grizzly bears were recently bought by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates) are made from scrap material found locally in the San Luis Obispo area. In fact, much of this scrap comes from listings found in the CalMAX catalog. In 1998, Rick made over three dozen exchanges with several companies totaling over 12,500 pounds. He estimates these exchanges resulted in savings of more than $24,200 (in materials costs for him and in avoided costs for him and avoided disposal costs for others). Rick is also very aware of California's disposal reduction goals; as part of his grant, he is required to provide San Luis Obispo County with information on materials diverted from the landfill.

Rick feels CalMAX is a "great resource that fills an important niche." He first heard of the program in 1994 from the local waste management authority when applying for his grant. He has added CalMAX to the many resources he needs to find used materials. Rick notes, "I may not always finds what I need directly through CalMAX, but in many cases I find leads to other materials by calling listers." One example is the great wood raisin boxes he found, not through an "available" ad in CalMAX, but via a contact he made through another CalMAX user.

Rick is also promoting reuse-based business ideas to help others. As an old hand at turning a pastime into profits, he's helping to develop programs for disabled veterans and developmentally disabled persons who can model this type of business to create products from discards and make a living. Although Rick Holliday originally started this endeavor for the birds, with ambition and some help from CalMAX he's clearly soaring his way to higher heights.

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Last updated: August 01, 2008